EUROPEAN UNION (EU) leaders imposed sanctions against Zimbabwe this week and withdrew election observers. Nobody should believe the EU is a friend of democracy in Africa or anywhere else. The EU says it is outraged by President Mugabe's refusal to allow monitors in to watch over the presidential election scheduled for 9-10 March.
As Tony Blair met right wing Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi to discuss "flexible labour markets" and "economic liberalisation", a wave of workers' revolt was sweeping the country. Berlusconi, said there had been an "absolute convergence of views" between him and Blair.
Huge street protests and a two-week general strike have shut banks and businesses in many parts of Madagascar.
A new wave of agitation has swept Argentina. It comes after the conversion of all bank accounts from dollars to the national currency, the peso, two weeks ago. Friday of last week saw demonstrations right across the country, with unemployed people looting supermarkets in the Cordoba province for food.
"The Colombian city of Santiago de Cali ground to a halt. Traffic jams could be seen in every direction. Workers, the local communities and supporters filled the city's streets to rally in support of the occupation".
COLOMBIA WAS facing a bloodbath this week as peace talks in its long-running civil war teetered on the brink of collapse. A last minute deal extended the deadline until this weekend.
HUGE DEMONSTRATIONS swept Argentina again at the end of last week. People swarmed onto the streets of Buenos Aires after the new government of President Duhalde tightened the restrictions imposed by the previous president, De la Rua, on people getting money from their bank accounts.
SUPPORT IS growing for the next major anti-capitalist events, which take place from 31 January to 4 February. Protesters are organising in New York in the US against the annual World Economic Forum meeting of business and political leaders.
LOYALIST TERROR reached shocking new levels in Belfast in Northern Ireland this week. Two masked Loyalist gunmen shot Catholic postal worker Danny McColgan dead as he arrived for work on the mainly Loyalist Rathcoole estate last Saturday morning. They shot him five times in the back and twice in the head. Danny was 20 years old. He and his partner, Lindsay, have a 13 month old child.
POOR ZIMBABWE. One of the richest countries in Africa, it is now in economic freefall. Closely interwoven with this is the political crisis pitting the government of President Robert Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party against the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
TONY BLAIR cast himself in the role of peacemaker as he embarked on a tour of India and Pakistan to defuse recent tensions over Kashmir. The two nuclear powers stand dangerously close to war. Thousands of Kashmiris have been forced to flee their homes.
Colombia SOME 800 workers in Colombia were this week entering the third week of an occupation against privatisation. The workers in the city of Cali are protesting at the threat to privatise the Emcali public utilities corporation.
